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Making Our Faith Simple-Yet-Not-Simplistic: Prayer

Welcome to the final installment of my series, Making Our Faith Simple-Yet-Not-Simplistic, as I continue to draw from my book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, to focus on the four pillars of our Catholic faith: Creed, Sacraments, Moral Life, and Prayer. Today, we look at our life of prayer. On a recent episode of the doctor drama New Amsterdam, the main character, Dr. Max Goodwin, is in […]

Incorporating Movement into Faith Formation Sessions

Denise Gorss

One of the young people in my group asked if we’d be moving around at all during the session. It hit me as a necessary reminder that I need to be intentional about incorporating movement into my sessions. While not every session has elements of movement that bodily-kinesthetic learners might appreciate, I try to include varied activities such as: Learning Stations—I’ve been incorporating sacraments learning stations into my classes for several years now, and last […]

Looking Forward to the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress 2019

Joe Paprocki

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which takes place this March 21–24, 2019. I recently had the joy and privilege of getting together with a team of amazingly talented co-presenters as we planned and prepared for our “extravaganza” on Saturday, March 23, from 3:00–4:30 pm (session 6-22): How to Renew, Re-energize, and Transform Your Parish NOW! We will be drawing from my book, A Church on the Move: 52 […]

Saint Andrew Dung-Lac - image by Nheyob (cropped by Rabanus Flavus) under CC BY-SA 3.0

Asian and Pacific Island Catholics: Identity and Our Gifts to the Church

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

In August 2018, Most Reverend Oscar Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City, convoked a gathering of Catholic leaders from Asian and Pacific Island communities across the country. Our task: to produce a plan to disseminate and implement the document Encountering Christ in Harmony: A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers and Sisters (ECH:API). Developed by the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islands Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) […]

Praying with Little Ones

Kathleen Butler

Last fall, Joe Paprocki provided 20 tips for catechists. The ninth tip stuck with me: as catechists, we are not teaching a subject, but we are facilitating an encounter with Jesus. All of us encounter Jesus in different ways on any given day, and our students are no different. Offering a variety of prayer experiences for children can open up new ways for Christ to work in their lives. When I’m praying with my first-grade […]

How a Church on the Move Forms People in Faith: Theology by the Glass

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Lay Ministry Assembly in the Diocese of Saginaw, MI, on the topic of A Church on the Move, drawing from my book of the same name in which I discuss how a Church “on the move” thinks, functions, worships, forms people in faith, and engages the world. In the section of the book on how a Church on the move forms people in faith, I wrote: […]

A New Year and New Beginnings

Joe Paprocki

Like most people, I find myself making one or two New Year’s resolutions—usually associated around some form of self-improvement (diet and exercise). Some I keep; others I’m less successful at keeping. While New Year’s Day is about new beginnings, there is an important distinction to be made between our approach to the new liturgical year that has just begun and the New Year on our secular calendar. Ultimately, New Year’s resolutions are about something that […]

Letting Things Go in a Different Direction

Kathleen Butler

Lesson planning is critical to the success of any class. With a solid plan, I walk into class more confident, but I build in flexibility in case an activity doesn’t work or if we run short (or long) on time. So, last year, when my Nativity lesson went off track, this flexibility allowed me to let go of my plan and respond to the needs of my students. The result was a powerful message about […]

Let’s Stop the Catechetical Pendulum from Swinging!

Joe Paprocki

Recently, I came across an article in America Magazine that caught my eye: “How Can We Strengthen Faith Formation Classes?” The article by Becca Meagher and Claire Shea, both ministering at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, MN, makes a compelling argument for a more relevant and creative approach to adolescent catechesis. Permit me to begin by thanking Meagher and Shea for their excellent contribution to the ongoing conversation about effective catechesis. Perhaps the […]

Praying with Second Graders

Cindy Coleman

The longer I am a catechist, the more I feel the need to focus on prayer with the children in my classes. For so long I limited prayer to the start and end of class, and I encouraged the children to memorize traditional prayers. But I didn’t do much else. Now I lead the children in exploring new and varied ways to pray so they can grow in their personal relationship with God. Early in […]